All Discussions Tagged 'Zphilippines' - The 4 Freedoms Library2024-03-29T08:33:54Zhttp://4freedoms.com/group/filipino/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=Zphilippines&feed=yes&xn_auth=noRamadan and Violence?tag:4freedoms.com,2010-09-12:3766518:Topic:281962010-09-12T22:09:40.000ZKinanahttp://4freedoms.com/profile/Kinana
<p>Muslims are supposed to read the whole of the Quran during Ramadan, it is split into 30 sections for this purpose. These Catholic Bishops should do the same so they do not spout such nonsense.</p>
<p> …</p>
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<p>Muslims are supposed to read the whole of the Quran during Ramadan, it is split into 30 sections for this purpose. These Catholic Bishops should do the same so they do not spout such nonsense.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/09/philippines-bishop-of-jolo-fears-rise-in-jihadist-violence-usually-something-happens-after-ramadan.html#comments">http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/09/philippines-bishop-of-jolo-fears-rise-in-jihadist-violence-usually-something-happens-after-ramadan.html#comments</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/> Philippines: Bishop of Jolo fears rise in jihadist violence: "Usually, something happens after Ramadan"</p>
<p>A friend writes: There is, of course, a well established correlation the world over between Ramadan and an increase in jihadist attacks. And what better way to celebrate the end of the "month of jihad" than... more jihad?</p>
<p>"Violence could erupt after Ramadan - Jolo Catholic bishop," by Jomar Canlas for the Manila Times, September 11 (thanks to Twostellas):</p>
<p>A Catholic bishop fears an escalation of violence in southern Philippines after the Muslims' celebration of Ramadan.</p>
<p>Jolo Bishop Angelito Lampon said in the website of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines CBCP) that they are bracing for a possible stepping-up of hostilities just like what happened in the past years.</p>
<p>Friday was the end of the holy month of Ramadan.</p>
<p>"Usually, something happens after Ramadan. That is our experience . . . that's why we take extra-precautionary measures," Lampon also said over Church-run Radyo Veritas on Thursday.</p>
<p>That is also the reason, he added, why they welcome the decision of the police and military leadership to go on heightened alert as early as last Monday.</p>
<p>"It's just proper that they're on heightened alert to preempt any untoward incidents," Lampon said.<br/> The military and the police are on heightened alert as a precautionary measure against possible retaliatory attacks from Abu Sayyaf rebels after their commander and two of his men were killed by an elite police unit last week.</p>
<p>With this, Lampon urged those planning to sow fear and violence to forego their plans and think twice.</p>
<p>"We pray that their sacrifices would bear fruit toward peace, save life, to Allah. We can work together toward development of harmony and peace," he stressed.</p>
<p>But Allah promises paradise to Muslims who "slay and are slain" for Allah (9:111), while also admonishing believers "Let not the believers Take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than believers: if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah: except by way of precaution, that ye may Guard yourselves from them..." (3:28). Further, "whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them" (5:51).</p>
<p>It tends to throw a wrench in the works of joining together for harmony and peace.</p>
<p>In the meantime, Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma stressed that the period after the end of the Ramadan is the best time for the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to pursue peace talks.</p>
<p>Trying to catch them in a good mood, perhaps?</p>
<p>Ledesma heads the Episcopal Commission on Inter-religious Dialogue of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.</p> Estrada ignores fatwa by Muslim elderstag:4freedoms.com,2010-03-23:3766518:Topic:198862010-03-23T23:10:04.000ZKinanahttp://4freedoms.com/profile/Kinana
<p><span class="fontheadline">Estrada ignores fatwa by Muslim elders</span> </p>
<p><a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100321-259997/Estrada-ignores-fatwa-by-Muslim-elders">http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100321-259997/Estrada-ignores-fatwa-by-Muslim-elders</a></p>
<p><br></br> <span class="fontbyline">Agence France-Presse</span><br></br> <span class="fonttimestamp">First Posted 13:01:00 03/21/2010</span><br></br></p>
<div class="KonaBody"><p>MANILA,…</p>
</div>
<p><span class="fontheadline">Estrada ignores fatwa by Muslim elders</span> </p>
<p><a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100321-259997/Estrada-ignores-fatwa-by-Muslim-elders">http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100321-259997/Estrada-ignores-fatwa-by-Muslim-elders</a></p>
<p><br/> <span class="fontbyline">Agence France-Presse</span><br/> <span class="fonttimestamp">First Posted 13:01:00 03/21/2010</span><br/></p>
<div class="KonaBody"><p>MANILA, Philippines—Former president Joseph Estrada on Sunday ignored a “fatwa” by Muslim elders branding him an enemy of Islam and warned separatist rebels of an "all out war" if he wins re-election to the post.</p>
<p>Estrada said he was confident the religious edict issued last week by the Bangsamoro Supreme Council, a grouping of Islamic scholars and elders in the south, would not be supported by the region's five million Muslims.</p>
<p>He also warned the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been waging a bloody rebellion since 1978, to disarm or risk being crushed by the army under his command if he won in the May polls.</p>
<p><strong>"I am a friend of Islam, and I respect Islam,"</strong> Estrada told AFP in Manila shortly after arriving from a weekend campaign in Mindanao, where over 150,000 people have been killed in the long-running insurgency.</p>
<p><strong>"However, I will not tolerate any organization regardless of religion if they violate the law," he said.</strong></p>
<p>He said the MILF must put down their weapons if they want to negotiate peace with any future Estrada government.</p>
<p>"I want them to disarm, and if they don't, then I will go on an all-out war against them again. We have already exhausted all peaceful remedies against them, and enough is enough," he said.</p>
<p><strong>"A president's duty is to protect the territorial integrity of the country at all cost,"</strong> he stressed.</p>
<p>Shortly after winning the presidency by a landslide in 1998, the former movie action star Estrada launched a massive military assault against the MILF and dislodged the rebels from their fortified main base in Mindanao.</p>
<p>During one victory celebration, the MILF said Estrada trucked in a roasted pig and beer for his men who had camped near a ruined mosque.</p>
<p>The MILF meanwhile on Sunday distanced itself from the Council which issued the fatwa, saying it was not sanctioned by the rebel leadership. However, it it agreed that Estrada was "the most un-Islamic of all previous presidents."</p>
<p>"In just a brief period of time as a president, Estrada caused major destruction in the Muslim south," MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu told AFP.</p>
<p>Estrada was ousted by a military-backed revolt in 2001 amid allegations of corruption.</p>
</div> Philippines 2004: AS Fascists bomb super ferry for protection money - 116 killedtag:4freedoms.com,2010-02-27:3766518:Topic:186062010-02-27T20:51:18.000ZAlan Lakehttp://4freedoms.com/profile/AlanLake
<div class="description" id="desc_3766518Comment18588">February 27, 2004, The 2004 SuperFerry 14 bombing resulted in the sinking of the ferry SuperFerry 14 and the deaths of 116 people in the Philippines' deadliest terrorist attack and the world's deadliest terrorist attack at sea.<br></br> <br></br><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-k3RrGAJo6w/R8ba9Njp1LI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/ske1Mec8pPk/s400/disaster2004.super3GIF.gif"></img></p>
<br></br> The 10,192-ton ferry sailed out of Manila with about 900 passengers and crew. A television set containing an 8-pound (4 kilograms) TNT bomb had been placed…</div>
<div class="description" id="desc_3766518Comment18588">February 27, 2004, The 2004 SuperFerry 14 bombing resulted in the sinking of the ferry SuperFerry 14 and the deaths of 116 people in the Philippines' deadliest terrorist attack and the world's deadliest terrorist attack at sea.<br/> <br/><p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-k3RrGAJo6w/R8ba9Njp1LI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/ske1Mec8pPk/s400/disaster2004.super3GIF.gif"/></p>
<br/> The 10,192-ton ferry sailed out of Manila with about 900 passengers and crew. A television set containing an 8-pound (4 kilograms) TNT bomb had been placed on board. 90 minutes out of port, the bomb exploded. 63 people were killed immediately and 53 were missing and presumed dead.<br/> <br/> Despite claims from various terrorist groups, the blast was initially thought to have been an accident, caused by a gas explosion. However, after divers righted the ferry five months after it sank, they found evidence of a bomb blast. A man named Redendo Cain Dellosa also admitted to planting the bomb on board for the Abu Sayyaf guerrilla group.<br/> <br/> President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced on October 11, 2004, that investigators had concluded that the explosion had been caused by a bomb. She said six suspects had been arrested in connection with the bombing and that the masterminds, Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Sulaiman,<br/> were still at large. It was believed that Abu Sayyaf bombed Superferry 14 because the company that owned it, WG&A, did not comply with a letter demanding protection money.<br/> <br/>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-k3RrGAJo6w/R8ba89jp1KI/AAAAAAAAB6I/cZH8Gy82Cjw/s400/disaster2004.super4.GIF"/></p>
</div> Obama responds to MILF Fasciststag:4freedoms.com,2009-11-29:3766518:Topic:105152009-11-29T00:11:43.000ZNetconhttp://4freedoms.com/profile/Netcon
<p><a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/obama-reaches-out-to-philippine-jihadists.html" target="_blank">http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/obama-reaches-out-to-philippine-jihadists.html</a><br></br> <br></br> As Weasel Zippers says: "What a disgrace. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Christians in the areas it controls, beheadings, numerous terrorist attacks etc. not that this would bother Obama...."<br></br> <br></br> "Obama sends letter to…</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/obama-reaches-out-to-philippine-jihadists.html" target="_blank">http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/obama-reaches-out-to-philippine-jihadists.html</a><br/> <br/> As Weasel Zippers says: "What a disgrace. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Christians in the areas it controls, beheadings, numerous terrorist attacks etc. not that this would bother Obama...."<br/> <br/> "Obama sends letter to Philippine Muslim rebel leader," from Deutsche Presse Agentur, November 14 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):<br/> <br/> Manila - US President Barack Obama has sent a letter to the leader of the main Muslim rebel group in the Philippines, a guerrilla official said Saturday.<br/> The letter to Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Murad Ibrahim was delivered to rebel peace negotiators by Deputy Assistant State Secretary Scot Marciel, according to Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the MILF secretariat.<br/> <br/> Ameen said Marciel and two other US diplomats met MILF peace negotiators headed by Mohagher Iqbal on November 6.<br/> <br/> Ameen did not disclose the contents of the letter but said it was a response to a letter Murad sent to Obama after he won the election last year.<br/> <br/> On Friday, US State Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton urged the Philippine government and the MILF to conclude a peace deal before the end of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's term next year....<br/> <br/> <br/> Posted by Robert on November 25, 2009</p> MILF Fascists kidnap Irish missionarytag:4freedoms.com,2009-10-12:3766518:Topic:25682009-10-12T09:31:47.000ZKinanahttp://4freedoms.com/profile/Kinana
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<p>Philippines: Columban Missionary Kidnapped<br></br> Columban Missionary Fr Michael Sinnott kidnapped<br></br> Columban Father Michael Sinnott was kidnapped this Sunday evening (11 Oct.) at about 7.30 pm (local time) from outside his home in Pagadian City, Province of Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao, as he was taking an evening stroll in the garden.…<br></br></p>
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<p>Philippines: Columban Missionary Kidnapped<br/> Columban Missionary Fr Michael Sinnott kidnapped<br/> Columban Father Michael Sinnott was kidnapped this Sunday evening (11 Oct.) at about 7.30 pm (local time) from outside his home in Pagadian City, Province of Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao, as he was taking an evening stroll in the garden.<br/> Four or five armed men burst into the garden and bundled Fr Michael into a pickup truck and drove to a local beach. The vehicle was abandoned and burnt. Fr Michael was taken away in a speed boat.<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> Irish priest kidnapped in Philippines<br/> <br/> MARY FITZGERALD Foreign Affairs Correspondent<br/> IRISH TIMES<br/> AN OCTOGENARIAN Irish priest was kidnapped by a gang of armed men in the restive southern Philippines yesterday.<br/> Michael Sinnott (80), a Columban Father originally from Barntown in Co Wexford, was taken away on a speed boat after six gunmen entered the Columban House in Pagadian city in the province of Zamboanga del Sur yesterday evening, and dragged him away, according to reports quoting local police. The truck used to transport him to the harbour was later found abandoned and burned near Columban House.<br/> No group has claimed responsibility, but suspicion may fall on Muslim separatists who have been fighting for their own homeland in the southern Philippines for decades and have in the past kidnapped foreigners, including priests.<br/> In a statement posted on the website of the Navan-based Columban Missionaries, the order said Fr Sinnott was taking an evening stroll in his garden when he was taken by the gunmen.<br/> Fr Sinnott was ordained in 1954 and was assigned to Mindanao in the southern Philippines in 1957 following his studies in Rome.<br/> He served in Mindanao until 1966 before being assigned to the theology staff in Dalgan Park, Navan.<br/> He returned to the Philippines in 1976 where he has served in a variety of pastoral and administrative roles. Since 1998 he has been involved with a school for children with special needs.</p> History of Jihad against the Philippines (1380 - Ongoing)- Historyofjihad.org Articletag:4freedoms.com,2009-10-06:3766518:Topic:22042009-10-06T16:12:49.000ZCharles Martelhttp://4freedoms.com/profile/LutonEnglish
<p>The coming of Islam to the Philippines<br></br> <br></br> To realize how the animists of Philippines initially resisted the Islamic Holy Warriors from 1380 onwards and how later they managed to remain a Christian island atop a Muslim Archipelago by fighting off the Muslim incursions of the Moros from Mindanao in the Southern Philippines, we need to look at what happened in the neighboring countries from the 15th century onwards.…<br></br></p>
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<p>The coming of Islam to the Philippines<br/> <br/> To realize how the animists of Philippines initially resisted the Islamic Holy Warriors from 1380 onwards and how later they managed to remain a Christian island atop a Muslim Archipelago by fighting off the Muslim incursions of the Moros from Mindanao in the Southern Philippines, we need to look at what happened in the neighboring countries from the 15th century onwards.<br/></p>
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<p><br/> Magellan<br/> <br/> A seminal event that was to halt the advance of Islam was the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in the Philippines in 1521.<br/> <br/> <br/> _____________________________________<br/> The story of Islamic incursions in the Philippines in closely intertwined with that of Islam in the far-east. It was from Malaya, Southern Thailand and Indonesia that Islam went to the Philippines. Hence to study the coming of Islam to the Philippines we start from the coming of Islam to Thailand and Malaya, where Islam first clashed with the local religions Buddhism and Hinduism.<br/> <br/> In fact, what are today the ASEAN countries had one religion (a mix of Hinduism-Buddhism-Animism) and one culture till the 15th century. They did not look upon themselves as different countries. A large part of today�s Malaysia was a part of the kingdom of Siam (Thailand). And at times Malaysia Indonesia and Southern Phillipines (Mindanao and the Sulu islands) were under the rule of one single dynasty (Sri Vijaya, Shailendra, Majapahit and Mataram).<br/> <br/> The Bas Reliefs of Borobudur in Indonesia and the ancient Indian (Sanskrit) language are the only reminders of the Buddhist and Hindu past of the current Muslim population of Malaysia and Indonesia. Seals found in Southern Philippines establish that the reign of these dynasties had extended to the Philippine archipelago. The Laguna Copperplate Inscription is one such seal. This seal dates from 900 AD (Saka Era year 822) and is considered to be the end of prehistory of the Philippines as far as documents are concerned. It was found in the Laguna de Bay of Manila. In 1989, the Philippines National Museum acquired it. The inscription forgives the descendants of Namwaran from a debt of 926.4 grams of gold, and is granted by the chief of Tondo (an area in Manila) and the authorities of Paila, Binwangan and Pulilan, which are all locations in Luzon. The words are a mixture of Sanskrit, Old Malay, Old Javanese and Old Tagalog.<br/> <br/> The subject matter proves the highly developed society that existed in the Philippines prior to the Spanish colonization, as well as refuting earlier claims of the Philippines being a cultural isolate in Asia; the references to the Chief of Medan in Indonesia claim the cultural and trade links with various other affiliated empires and territories in other parts of the Malay Archipelago.<br/> <br/> One example of pre-Spanish Philippine script on a burial jar, derived from Brahmi survives, as most of the writing was done on perishable bamboo or leaves; an earthenware burial jar dated 1200s or 1300s with script was found in Batangas. This script is called in Tagalog Baybayin or Alibata.<br/> <br/> But the point to be noted here is that the people of pre-islamic South East Asia (including those of the Philippines) were under Hindu-Buddhist cultural influences and were ill prepared to meet the Islamic onslaught. The clash of the gentle ancestors of the Filipinos, Thais, Malays and Indonesians with the violent Muslims is a clash of contrasts. This is so as there is no greater contrast than that between Buddhism and Islam. While Buddhism is intrinsically and universally non-violent, Islam is a violent, cruel and murderous paranoia as we witnessed in 9/11, 7/7, 3/11 and numerous other events in recent history. The 14 century long history of Islam has been equally violent and bloodied and cruel.<br/> ________________________________<br/></p>
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<p><br/> A pre-Islamic horseman.<br/> <br/> The face-off between Islam and Buddhism is a study of extremely stark contrasts; contrasts like, actions followed by queer reactions followed again by counter reactions. Confusing is it? Let us explain. Read on.<br/> <br/> The universal non-violence of Buddhism pitted against the depraved Cruelty of Islam<br/> <br/> The Buddhists teach their adherents to be extremely non-violent whatever the provocation, while Islam teaches its adherents to be extremely cruel, murderous, deceptive (Taqiya)and sadistic. When the Buddhists first encountered the Muslims in Central Asia and Afghanistan (remember the Bamiyan Buddhas?), the Buddhist reaction was no reaction at all. The Buddhists tamely submitted to the Muslims. No they did not embrace Islam en masse; they just gave themselves up for being slaughtered en masse by the Muslims. The Buddhists were one of those few who accepted the �Death Option� from the Muslims� offer of �Islam or Death�.<br/> <br/> Hence the Buddhists simply perished in the first flush of Muslim onslaught against them. Many of the Buddhists never learned to resist the Muslims. Even when the Muslims raided famous Buddhist Universities like Nalanda in India�s Bihar province, the Buddhists died en masse when the Muslim swordsmen slaughtered them like hyena would devour a clutch of rabbits in a cage. The Buddhists also did not make any attempt to escape from their murderers. They accepted death with an air of fatalism and destiny. And hence they are not around today to tell their story!<br/> <br/> But their mindless slaughter evoked another and extremely opposite reaction from another set of Buddhists. This was also the most dramatic one so far � the Mongol invasion of Iran and Iraq by Chengiz Khan and his son Hulagu Khan. These Mongols were Buddhists by faith, whose homeland had been suffering the depredations of the Muslims for six centuries (from 651 C.E. to 1200 C.E.) when the Buddhist Mongols decided that enough was enough and decided to pay back the Muslims with their own coin � with due premium added! The Mongols slaughtered the Muslims of Iran and Iraq with unremitting cruelty.<br/> <br/> The Mongols laid waste the countryside, burnt down cities slaughtered the Muslim population en masse, including the Caliph himself!.<br/> <br/> It was only this unexpected reversal of attitudes of the Mongol Buddhists, that resulted in the ravaging Muslims being ravaged themselves by a force that was infinitely more barbarous than the Muslims. And only this could lead to the defeat of the Muslims. This folks is the moral of our story when we try to understand the Muslim attacks on the Buddhists of Thailand and how the Muslims can finally be defeated in the ongoing War on Terror.<br/> <br/> <br/> _____________________________________<br/> <br/> Clash of Contrasts - Buddhism and Islam in Thailand and Malaysia (from where Islam came to the Philippines)<br/> <br/> Thailand is today a Buddhist nation, unlike its Muslim neighbors like Malaysia and Indonesia. Thailand is Buddhist today due to the largely forgotten struggle waged by the Siamese (Thai) kings against the Muslim Jihadis who invaded South East Asia from the 13th century onwards. Like Thailand, the people of Malaysia, Indonesia also were overwhelmingly Hindu and Buddhists, before they were overrun by Islam.<br/> <br/> The face-off between Islam and Buddhism is a study of extremely stark contrasts; contrasts like, actions followed by queer reactions followed again by counter reactions. Confusing is it? Let us explain. Read on.<br/> <br/> Physical science tells us that whenever there is an action, there is also an equal and opposite reaction. In the world of human psychology, this rule generally becomes skewed depending on the ethical-moral mindset of the parties involved. The Muslims have encountered varying levels of resistance in their history of rampage spread across three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa up to the 20th century. A rampage which spread in a dramatic manner to America (9/11) and Australia (Bali attacks) in the 21st century.<br/> <br/> The Muslim marauders started their rampage (Jihad) by measuring their theologically inspired murderous mentality against the military valor of the Zoroastrian Persians in the 7th century followed by the military valor of the Byzantine Christians. Note here that it was the military valor of the Persians and Byzantines that was pitted against the theologically inspired murderous mentality of the Muslims. This match itself was unequal as theologically inspired murderous mentality can and did easily overcome military valor. The inspiration of the Muslims was to destroy their enemies, while that of the Persians and Byzantines was only to defeat and roll back the Muslim invasion. It was in this battle of objectives itself that the Persians and the Byzantines lost out to the Muslims. To defeat the Muslims, our primary objective should be to destroy Islam. Only then can victory over Muslim be the result!<br/> <br/> The Muslim mindset of unremitting violence, cruelty and murder finally defeated the military valor of both the Zoroastrian Persians and the Byzantine Christians. Both the cultures fell before the advance of the murderous Muslim marauders. The Zoroastrian Persians perished and disappeared from history altogether. But the Christians responded differently. After four centuries of unremitting barbarism from the Muslims who overran the Christian nations of the Middle East (known today as Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Turkey) and the Christian nations in Africa (Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia) as also in Europe (Spain for 800 years) France (for 30 years) Italy (for 8 years) the Christians finally decided that enough was enough and determined to return the barbarism of the Muslims with even greater and more effective barbarism, tinged with determination to liberate the Holy Land from its infidel occupiers, singed as the Christians had been with four centuries of Muslim horrors across three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe.<br/> ________________________________<br/></p>
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<p><br/> Traditional Thai Warriors<br/> <br/> The Thais resisted the Muslims, albeit briefly in the 17th century, only to lapse back to a defensive position and again start suffering at the hands of the Malaysian Jihadis in the 21st century.<br/> <br/> The Malays themselves were Buddhists and Hindu by faith till the 15th century under their kingdoms of Sri Vijaya (Malaysia), Majapahit (Indonesian archipelago). These kingdoms were ardent rivals and were at war with each other and with their northern neighbor � the kingdom of Siam (Thailand), when the Muslim first appeared on the scene.<br/> <br/> <br/> _____________________________________<br/> On the other hand because of the change of strategy while fighting the murderous Muslims, the Crusaders were stunningly successful, and in their first rush itself overwhelmed the barbarous Muslim with even greater barbarism. The Crusaders not only slaughtered the Muslims, but went further to roast and eat the Muslims in a gruesome barbecue. An exercise that can today be termed as recycling the adversary! Mind you, these Crusaders were not Head Hunting cannibals when the left Europe. They came from established civilizations in France, England, Germany, Spain, Italy in Mediaeval Europe. But the relentless barbarism of the Muslims had built in the Christians an urge to put an end to it all, once and forever. The result was � The Crusades. and the corollary of cannibalism that was compelled upon the Crusaders by four centuries of near fatal depredations of their countries, culture and civilization. It was only this unexpected reversal of attitudes on part of the Crusaders of the ravaging the ravager Muslims with a force that was more barbarous than the Muslims, could lead to the defeat of the Muslims. This folks is the moral of our story when we try to understand the Muslim attacks on the Buddhists of Thailand.<br/> <br/> <br/> The universal non-violence of Buddhism pitted against the depraved Cruelty of Islam<br/> <br/> The Buddhists teach their adherents to be extremely non-violent whatever the provocation, while Islam teaches its adherents to be extremely cruel, murderous and sadistic. When the Buddhists first encountered the Muslims in Central Asia and Afghanistan (remember the Bamiyan Buddhas?), the Buddhist reaction was no reaction at all. The Buddhists tamely submitted to the Muslims. No, they did not embrace Islam en masse; they just gave themselves up for being slaughtered en masse by the Muslims. The Buddhists were one of the few who accepted the �Death Option� from the Muslims� offer of �Islam or Death�. Hence the Buddhists simply perished in the first flush of Muslim onslaught against them. Many of the Buddhists never learnt to resist the Muslims. Even when the Muslims raided famous Buddhist Universities like Nalanda in India�s Bihar province, the Buddhists died en masse when the Muslim swordsmen slaughtered them like a pack of famished hyenas would devour a clutch of rabbits inside a cage.<br/> ________________________________<br/> <br/> Before the advent of Islam, Sri Vijaya and Majapahit were powerful empires from the 13th upto the 15th centuries. Both the Sri Vijaya and Majapahit kings followed an eclectic faith made up of Hinduism and Buddhism. These kingdoms also had their illustrious counterparts in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma (Myanmar). They built magnificent cities. The ruins of Angkor are the most dramatic surviving evidences of their glory. Similar cities dotted Malaysia, and Indonesia in the 12 to the 15th centuries. Their decline began with the coming of Arab dhows (vessels) who carried not just merchandise but also the sword of Islam. The king who first embraced Islam was named Parmeswara and he became a victim of circumstances when he was tricked into becoming a Muslim.<br/> <br/> <br/> _____________________________________<br/> When attacked and massacred by the Muslims, the Buddhists initially did not make any attempt to escape from their murderers. They accepted death with an air of fatalism and destiny. And hence they are not around today to tell their story. But their mindless slaughter evoked another and extremely opposite reaction from another set of Buddhists. This was also the most dramatic one so far � the Mongol invasion of Iran and Iraq by Chengiz Khan and his son Hulagu Khan. These Mongols were some sort of Buddhists by faith, whose homeland had been suffering the depredations of the Muslims for six centuries (from 651 to 1200) when the Buddhist Mongols decided that enough was enough and decided to pay back the Muslims with their own coin � with due premium added! The Mongols slaughtered the Muslims of Iran and Iraq with unremitting cruelty. The Mongols laid waste the countryside, burnt down cities slaughtered the Muslim population en masse, including the Caliph himself!. The Mongols were matched in their reaction to Muslim Barbarism, only by the Crusaders. And interestingly it was only the Mongols and the Crusaders who defeated the Muslims in their own homeland in the last 1400 years of the existence of the Muslims since 622 CE. Other minor aberrations that turned the tide of the Muslims were the Franks at Tours,the Spanish Re-conquistadores, the Hindus under their king Sivaji, the Nubian marksmen and the Thai reconquest of the Sultanate of Pattani late in the seventeenth century.<br/> <br/> How Islam came to the Philippines after it came to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand<br/> <br/> After this longish preamble, we shall see how the Filipinos resisted the Muslims, and preserved the Philippines as a Christian enclave amidst an Islamic sea. But the war against Islam in the Philippines is far from over as the activities of the MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front), the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) and now the dreaded Abu Sayyaf gang along with the Jemmah Islamia cause intermittent but alarming suffering to the mainly non-Muslim Filipinos even in the 21st century.<br/> <br/> The origin of the Muslim problem in the Philippines lies in the forced conversion of the Malays to Islam in the 15th century. The Malays themselves were Buddhists and Hindu by faith till the 15th century under their kingdoms of Sri Vijaya (Malaysia), Shailendra and Majapahit (Indonesian archipelago). These three kingdoms were ardent rivals and were intermittently at war with each other and with their northern neighbor � the kingdom of Siam (Thailand).<br/> <br/> Interestingly, the entry of Islam in to South East Asia was facilitated by this rivalry and internecine warfare of the three kingdoms of Thailand with SriVijaya of Malaysia and Shailendra and Majapahit of Indonesia. But the ultimate reason for the conversion of the last Sri Vijaya king, Parmeswara to Islam was deception as we shall see below.<br/></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/110482032?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/110482032?profile=original" class="align-left"/></a></p>
<p><br/> Thai Warriors as depicted at the Bas-Reliefs at Borobudur (Big Buddha) in Indonesia</p>